We are in the first week of June and the global atmospheric CO2 level is 424.44 ppm, as compared to 420.69 ppm a year ago. When I was born in 1954, the average was 313.20 ppm. For the past several weeks, there’ve been statements from scientists at the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organization, who are talking about the global temperature surpassing the 1.5 degree Celsius mark by 2027.
On the phys.org website, there’s a report from new research coming out of the University of Oxford stating that climate change is triggering the hottest days in North-West Europe, which will warm the temperatures in this region at double the rate of average summer days. CNN has also been reporting on the all-time temperature highs in Vietnam and Laos. Extreme heat events are likely to occur on a more regular basis.
The climateandeconomy.com website reported that 2023 surpassed 2016 as the year with the hottest global sea surface temperatures from 60 deg. South to 60 deg. North latitude since record keeping began in 1982. And the North Atlantic has warmed almost a full 1 deg. Celsius during this time period.
In addition, the Guardian shared a story about parts of Northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region that received half of their average annual rainfall in just 36 hours, resulting in 305 landslides. A greater number of extreme and destructive climate events from around the world are reminding us that we are facing a difficult and challenging climate future.
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This past April, however, I was invited to attend the EcoFaith Summit at the Gloria Dei Church in Duluth, Minnesota. Sponsored by a variety of organizations, including the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light, the summit’s theme was “The Pollinator Plot: Cross+Pollination in a Time of Ecological Crisis.” As stated in the handouts, the summit declared the importance of embracing a vision for the regional regeneration of pollinator habitats, including for bees and butterflies, and promoting pollinator-friendly habitats on their church grounds, at home and in neighborhoods.
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While different speakers talked about various populations of pollinator species that are essential to the ecological well-being of all life around the world, I found myself thinking about how people, i.e., how the human species, could serve as pollinators of change. There could be people from around the world working on behalf of our ecological well-being, helping protect the environment by sharing resources, knowledge, and effort, and thus pollinating the projects that address the climate emergency that’s becoming more intense and challenging with each passing day.
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In his book “Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution,” Peter Kalmus talks about the need to reimagine what it means to be human in this climate-change world, and that we must do everything possible to change the direction of our personal and collective lives. He discusses his own path, which embraces asking the right questions, an intellectual understanding of what’s happening, practical actions that any of us can take, and what he calls “seeing from the heart” by being aware of all the different connections in our worlds. Kalmus argues that “connection brings purpose and meaning to thought and action.”
While rereading and reflecting upon his words, I’m wondering what each of us can do along the paths of our own lives. Maybe, we should see ourselves as human pollinators who can explore different ways to engage and connect with others in our communities and cities, and through our choices, actions, and gestures, create a greater sense of agency and urgency as well as empower others to lead more resilient and meaningful lives. Our acts can constantly remind ourselves and others that we belong to the world instead of believing that the world belongs to us.
Similarly, in “Choosing Earth: Humanity’s Great Transition to a Mature Planetary Civilization,” Duane Elgin wrote about the next step, “I see myself planting seeds of possibility but without expectation that I will live to see them blossom…” Elgin talks about the need to create a new rite of passage that includes living with great compassion, carrying stories in our collective imagination that empower us, and gaining insight into how we bear the suffering of this new world. The medium to grow our idea and projects.
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So, in our daily lives, what projects can we pollinate and create, and what seeds of possibility can we plant along our paths? These days, I spend time pulling out the manicured lawn and creating a large garden of native plants and flowers in the front yard of the Dorothy Day House. I’m hosting a weekly climate cafe where a few of us can gather, talk about the latest climate news and share our thoughts and feelings about what’s happening and how it may impact each of us. And I’m writing a series of columns about climate change for the two local papers with the hope of engaging people to learn more about the climate events impacting our region and to become climate activists.
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“Regeneration is not only about bringing the world back to life; it is about bringing each of us back to life…We are either stealing the future or healing the future,” stated Paul Hawken. In his book “Regeneration,” Hawken is asking us to put life at the center of every decision we make and action we take. We need to be imaginative, creative, inclusive, engaging and generous. The resulting new ideas and projects will grow hope for the future.
At this moment, we need to reimagine what it means to be human in this climate-change world.
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